indieDwell Q4 Wrap up for 2020

From the CEO

2020 required all of us to have extraordinary determination. We've seen the social and economic impact that the pandemic is having, especially the displacement of people into homelessness at a historic scale - keeping us keenly aware that our work of building quality, healthy, and energy efficient homes that are affordable has never mattered more. 

2020 was our second full year of operations at indieDwell and though we were challenged in both expected, and unexpected ways, we achieved some incredible milestones. A few highlights from the year:

• Grew 150% in top line revenue

• Closed the year with over $950 million in sales pipeline proving the demand for our product has never been greater

• Completed over 40,000 sqft of housing, including the College of Idaho dormitories and the rapid housing project in the City of San Jose, which will put 120 unhoused people into a safe and healthy dwelling

• Opened our second factory in Pueblo, Colorado creating jobs for 60 new teammates in a 100,000 sqft factory - that will more than double in headcount by the end of 2021 and bring over 200,000 sqft of affordable housing to the market each year

• Brought on additional investors and partners

• Continued to be in the top 1% of builders in the country meeting the extraordinary levels of excellence in energy and performance as certified by the U.S. Department of Energy

• Designed and constructed the prototype for the next generation of an indieDwell home - one that will be easier to build and allow for more flexibility in design, which will hit the market in 2021

indieDwell is resilient and committed to sustainable housing solutions that ensure our partners and customers achieve their housing objectives with the occupants' health and financial well-being in mind. We remain dedicated to bringing safe and affordable housing to the market while creating high quality jobs that pay livable wages.  

Christina Ortiz Bluth
Chief Executive Officer

Partners

We continue bringing on new partners both in existing markets and in new states. Some highlights include: 

Southeast Health Group

In partnership with Southeast Health Group in Colorado, we are building a sober living facility to provide transitional housing for those healing from substance abuse.

Chaffee Housing Trust

In Salida, CO indieDwell partnered with the Chaffee Housing Trust to develop an eight unit subdivision of single family homes to serve as desperately needed workforce housing. 

Quixote Communities

With Quixote Communities, indieDwell is building fifteen cottage style units that will house thirty homeless veterans on a site in Shelton, WA. This project is funded from an award by the Washington State Department of Commerce as part of a record $97 million investment into housing by the state of Washington.

People

In Caldwell, Idaho we are pleased to welcome new factory General Manager, Miguel Hernandez to the team. Miguel is not only an experienced manufacturing and operations professional but also shares our passion for servant leadership and making a positive impact in the world. He was most recently leading the manufacturing and plant operations at Heartland RV and prior to that led two factories managing metal fabrication and oversaw all aspects of assembly and operations at Lippert Components.

Purpose

Last year a team at our Caldwell Factory engaged in an extensive energy audit and developed a plan to make the operations carbon neutral in 2021. At our Pueblo Factory a five person team conducted an Industrial Strategic Energy Management (I-SEM) plan for our Pueblo operations and will work with the Colorado Energy Office in developing the plan.

indieDwell CEO, Christina Ortiz Bluth, and Chief Impact Officer, Scott Flynn, continue their work in creating an equitable and inclusive workplace including partnering with the Colorado Inclusive Economy which created workshops on Micro Aggression and Bias that leadership will present to the Colorado and Idaho teams in April.

Projects

City of Moab

indieDwell won a bid with the City of Moab to build four duplexes that will replace aging mobile home units in a City owned mobile home park. The City originally considered using a manufactured product but went with our modular system, which created more flexibility for future improvements to the park and represented a more durable product that would increase in value over time.

Grays Harbor, County Washington

Also as part of the record setting housing investment by the State of Washington, the Washington State Department of Commerce awarded Grays Harbor County and the Coastal Community Action Program $3.25mm to construct 24 modular housing units that will be used for transitional housing, housing for homeless families, and shelter for victims of domestic violence. indieDwell will build these units in the Caldwell, Idaho factory. 

LifeMoves Mountain View

For the Life Moves organization in Mountain View, CA indieDwell is building six units that will house twelve people for a demonstration development featuring housing units from several modular vendors. The goal of the project is to deploy permanent housing quickly and affordably. The full project will ultimately house 124 residents.

The Last Word

If you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas for us, we would love to hear from you.  Please know we are here to learn, to grow and to listen.  We cherish the opportunity to serve our communities together.